Breaking Tradition
by Ashanonymous
Summary: "How was it that each generation of Potters and Malfoys happened to be born the same year? The universe had a sense of humor, it seemed." Minerva never thought she'd see the day when a Malfoy and a Potter became friends.


It was, to put it simply, a phenomenon.

Minerva Mcgonagall had personally known Abraxas Malfoy; She'd gone to Hogwarts with him, after all, and they'd been on opposing Quidditch teams. And she'd known Charlus Potter; He'd been her best mate. And if there was one thing she remembered vividly from her years at Hogwarts, it was the intense dislike Abraxas Malfoy and Charlus Potter had held toward each other.

Then she'd become a professor at Hogwarts in her thirties, and it wasn't long before James Potter and Lucius Malfoy showed up as students. Quite predictably, they'd been Sorted into Gryffindor and Slytherin. Quite predictably, they'd continued their father's tradition of hexing each other in the hallways and provoking one another into full-blown fights. Minerva had never thought she'd see the day when a Malfoy was provoked into fighting like a Muggle.

Eventually, her dearest friend Charlus Potter was killed in battle, and Abraxas Malfoy succumbed to illness. James Charlus Potter and Lucius Abraxas Malfoy began to ignore each other as they matured, and had to deal with the weight of the increasing war. Soon, they graduated; Lucius married Narcissa Black and became one of Voldemort's followers, and James joined the Order of the Phoenix with his best friends and wife, Lily.

Then, the tragedy occurred.

The Wizarding World was celebrating, but Minerva felt the loss like a blow to her stomach. James, her godson, Charlus's son, was dead along with his wife, and their son, Harry, was an orphan.

Fast forward ten years and the Boy-Who-Lived was arriving at Hogwarts. And as luck would have it, Draco Malfoy happened to be in his same year. The two of them picked up their fathers' and grandfathers' rivalry quite easily. Draco was the image of his father, all white-blonde hair and piercing gray eyes, and Harry looked exactly like James, but with his mother's eyes. And they hated each other.

So, nothing had prepared her for this.

How was it that each generation of Potters and Malfoys happened to be born the same year? The universe had a sense of humor, it seemed.

Right now, Minerva was looking at two boys. One was blonde-haired and gray-eyed, and the other was black-haired and green-eyed. One was dressed in Gryffindor robes, and the other in Slytherin. Currently, they were sitting together at a table, heads bowed together, speaking in low voices. As she watched, the blonde one threw his head back and laughed loudly. The raven-haired one flushed and pouted.

Their names were Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter, and they were their father's sons.

She drew closer, curious about their conversation. She told herself she just wanted to make sure they weren't causing trouble, but she didn't even believe herself.

" _Stop laughing_ ," Albus hissed at his friend. Scorpius took a deep breath and smoothed his hands down his robes, attempting to calm down. It worked for about two seconds. As soon as he met Albus's eyes, he broke into hysterical laughter all over again.

Albus sat there and fumed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Scorpius gasped after seeing how Al was looking at him. "I just- Merlin, this is too funny not to laugh. Just ignore me. What did you do after?"

Albus sighed and slumped forward, the anger going out of him as quickly as it came. "I ran and hid," he muttered.

Scorpius fell into a fresh wave of giggles. "Oh, Merlin," he crowed. "Seriously? You ran and hid from a girl? _A girl_ , Al!"

Albus looked indignant. "Hey, when you grow up with as many girls as I have, you learn to have a healthy dose of fear when it comes to their tempers!"

Scorpius grinned. "That's the Slytherin in you, Al. Slytherins are all about self-preservation. But not me! I'm brave at heart," he said, thrusting a thumb at his chest proudly. "You'll never catch _me_ running from a girl."

"You want me to go get Rose and we'll test that out?" Albus challenged.

Before Scorpius could reply, he noticed Headmistress Mcgonagall walking by, looking at them strangely. He swung around in his seat and gave her a very charming, dimpled grin. "Hey, professor. How ya doing?"

"Mr. Malfoy," she nodded. "Mr. Potter."

Albus mumbled a hello.

Minerva was a tad unsettled by how easygoing, charming, and utterly normal Scorpius seemed. It was a far cry from the snappy, sneering attitude of his father, or the dignified countenence of his grandfather, or the cold and uptight personality of his great-grandfather.

As she walked away from the two boys, heading back to her office, she wondered at the strange friendship that had sprung up between the two. It was even more strange, considering Malfoy was a Gryffindor and Potter a Slytherin. The whole school had been collectively shocked when _that_ happened.

Over the next few years they continued to defy her expectations. They remained inseparable, like brothers- Their closeness reminded her of James Potter and Sirius Black.

In their Third year, they became the seekers for their respective Quidditch teams. Minerva had feared that would be the end of their friendship, but it only seemed to make them closer. They were equally matched in their skill; Once, a game lasted for more than 5 hours.

In their Fourth year, they returned from the summer holidays with streaked hair- Scorpius with red and Albus with green. It did not surprise her one bit to find out that it had been Scorpius's idea.

In their Fifth year, they had the biggest fight Hogwarts had ever seen. Minerva thought that was the end of their friendship, for sure. Fists were thrown, curses were cast, cusses were screamed at each other over the Gryffindor table. Dishes and food, scattered all over the place. Fellow students, hit with stray hexes. Parents were called in, and it was not a pretty sight.

Minerva sat at her desk, back straight and eyes fixed on the two teenage boys standing before her. Their parents were standing off to the side; Ginny was fuming, and Draco looked furious. Harry was calm and disappointed, and Astoria, dark-haired and beautiful, looked very distressed.

"Now, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," Minerva said calmly, "it is imperative we get to the bottom of this. You destroyed half the Great Hall. Over 20 students are in the infirmary. Why?"

Predictably, Scorpius spoke up first. "He started this!"

Albus hissed angrily. "Fuck you, Malfoy, you're as much to blame as I am."

"Language, Albus Severus Potter!" Ginny snapped.

Even in their anger, they were different. Scorpius shouted and glared and hit things (or people) till he was red in the face, but Albus was cold in his anger; he gave the silent treatment, and sent out scathing remarks designed purely to hit where it hurt most.

"How?" Malfoy demanded, staring at Albus. His eyes burned with anger. "How, exactly, am _I_ to blame?"

Albus glanced around at everyone. "I am _not_ discussing this here," he said tightly. He then turned to Minerva. "Just give me my punishment, Headmistress, so we can get this over with. I'd rather not spend one more minute in the same room as _him_ ," he jerked his head at Scorpius with a sneer.

Scorpius flushed red. "The feeling is mutual! You can go rot in Hell, for all I care!" he spat.

Harry stepped forward. "Not so fast," he said calmly but sharply. "No one is leaving this room until you tell us what this is all about."

"Never," Albus sneered. "No offense, Dad, but that's our business."

"It became all of our business when you two decided to level the Great Hall," Harry said firmly.

"I was not trying to level the Great Hall! I was _trying_ to level _his head_!" Scorpius said hotly, pointing at Albus.

 _"Enough!"_ Draco roared. "Scorpius, calm yourself down. The way you are behaving is completely unacceptable. When you come home for Christmas, you are grounded. Until then, SORT- THIS- _OUT!"_

"Bugger off, Father!" Scorpius screeched. And then he stamped his foot. "I am so sick of all of you! Especially- _You_ , what are you smirking at? You want to get slapped?" He demanded, breathing heavily. Sure enough, Albus had been smirking at Draco's outburst and was now smirking at his (former) best friend.

"You can just try," Albus sneered.

That was all the invitation Scorpius needed, it seemed. He lunged at Albus, who dodged out of the way and pushed him back, and a short scuffle ensued. Draco Malfoy was the first to react, swearing and pulling out his wand to flick the two of them apart. "Stop this, now," he hissed between clenched teeth. "Potter, restrain your spawn, and I will try to do the same."

The two boys were red-faced and panting after this, glaring unashamedly.

Minerva cleared her throat. "I have seen quite enough. Potter and Malfoy, detention for the next two months. You are banned from Hogsmeade trips for the rest of the year. Your detention begins tomorrow, at 6 o'clock, with Hagrid." Both Draco and Harry gave a start at this, as if to protest, but she silenced them with a look.

"Anything else?" She asked sharply, glancing around the office.

Draco was holding his son by the scruff of his robes, and he released him.

"Right then," Minerva nodded to herself, "Off to bed with the both of you- _One at a time_ ," she added sternly, seeing them both start for the door together.

Albus glared at Scorpius as he went by, ignoring the both of his parents, whom he seemed to be just as displeased with. Ginny clearly wasn't having that, as she stormed out after him, and after an apologetic glance at Minerva, Harry followed her.

Scorpius took a deep, shaky breath, and he was clearly blinking back tears as he went over to his mother, who embraced him. Astoria ruffled his unruly white-blonde and crimson-streaked hair as she kissed his forehead.

"It'll be okay, darling," she whispered to him. "Just keep your head up."

The young Malfoy sniffled a little bit. Then he pulled away from his mother and looked at his father. "I'm sorry, Dad."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "For what? Having a huge fight in the Great Hall or telling me to bugger off?"

"Telling you to bugger off," said Scorpius. He sniffled again and reached up to wipe at his face. "I'm not sorry for kicking Al's arse."

"Oh, my darling, don't cry," Astoria said comfortingly, reaching out to touch his shoulder. Draco winced as Scorpius stiffened indignantly.

"I am not crying! Gryffindors don't cry!"

"Of course, whatever you say, dear," his mother said patronisingly.

Draco cleared his throat. "Well, we should go now, as it's nearly past your bedtime. Astoria?"

Astoria nodded. She pulled Scorpius into one last hug, then Scorpius went to his father and embraced him. They were nearly the same height, but Scorpius was notoriously affectionate.

The young Malfoy pulled away from his father and they said their goodbyes, then he left the office. A moment later, just as the Malfoys were about to leave, Harry and Ginny came back. They all look at each other for a moment, than Harry cleared his throat.

"Malfoy."

"Potter."

Ginny scowled at them both before smiling at Draco's wife. "Hello, Astoria," she said warmly. The brunette woman greeted her back.

Minerva stood from her seat. "I trust, then, that everything has been sorted out?"

"Yes, Professor," all four of her former students said at the same time. Old habits died hard, it seemed.

Eventually Albus and Scorpius made up, bonding during their detentions with Hagrid. They were mad at each other, but they just couldn't be unpleasant to the jolly Care of Magical Creatures professor. Once they'd made up, they were rarely seen without each other- attached at the hip, just like always.

Evidently the two of them were miserable without each other, as they never fought that badly again.

Minerva walked briskly down the corridor only to hear the sound of students shouting. She walked faster, turning at a dignified but hurried pace around the corner, only to see just what she had expected- students dueling in the corridors.

And, right at the center of it, fighting back-to-back and clearly having the time of their lives, were Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter.

Minerva was outraged.

"POTTER! MALFOY! _DETENTION_!"


End file.
